Hunting For Crows
by AnonymousHime
Summary: After receiving a threatening message at the gym, the Kurasuno Volleyball Club decides to shrug it off as some punks trying to intimidate them… Until Kageyama Tobio suddenly collapses during practice. (My first fanfiction! （・o ・；）)
1. Chapter 1

**Hello everyone! So, this is my very FIRST fanfiction! Woohoo! It's probably not great, but I would really appreciate critiques and reviews to help me improve! It's probably pretty OOC, because I haven't actually completed the whole Haikyuu! series yet. This idea just suddenly came to me, and I had the urge to go ahead and write it… I'll probably edit it after I catch up in the series! Thanks for reading and reviewing! ^-^**

 **Chapter One: The Poison.**

"What should we do?" Sugawara questions the captain standing beside him, as they both stare up at the gym doors. Across them, the words " _QUIT THE TOURNAMENT OR ELSE_ " were sloppily graffiti-ed in bright red paint, and a shiver ran down Suga's spine as the thought that looked uncannily like blood came to mind. Daichi let out a long sigh and opened his mouth only to be interrupted by the arrival of another club member.

"Ehhh?! What is this?!" The hot-headed Tanaka tilted his head back and gritted his teeth, "Some punks think they stand a chance against us? I'll give whoever wrote that a nice kick up the—"

" _Tanaka._ " Sugawara threatened, causing the younger man to withdraw with a groan. Before Sugawara or Daichi even had a chance to say anything, the rest of the club joined in. They all stared at the warning message in silence before someone finally spoke up.

"Ehh… What is this?" Hinata tilted his head and rocked on his heels as he stared up at the writing. "Ohhh! I've seen this sorta stuff in action movies! Is this a game? Are we gonna go 'pow' and 'bwaaah'?!"

"Don't be such an idiot. I highly doubt this is a game." Kageyama crossed his arms and rolled his eyes, Hinata opened his mouth to argue when Sugawara interrupted.

"Kageyama is right, this isn't a game." He said in a strict yet gentle tone, the kind only Sugawara was able to manage. The whole team shifted awkwardly during the silence that followed this sentence, a weight falling over them as they considered the fact that this could be a real threat.

"W-What is this then?" Yamaguchi questioned sheepishly, sticking close to the still apathetic Tsukishima.

"Nothing to be worried about, I think." Daichi finally spoke, bringing all eyes on him.

"Daichi's right. Probably just some rascals trying to intimidate us, is all. But Kurasuno doesn't give up that easily! Right, team?" Sugawara's tender and enthusiastic tone offers the team reassurance as they smile and nod in agreement, and Hinata spurts out an "Osu!"

They cut today's practice short so they could wash the graffiti off the doors before it was time to leave. Despite their agreement to carry on as usual, the threat still weighed down on some of the members, particularly the captain and vice-captain.

Once the rest of the team had left, Sugawara and Daichi sat themselves on the steps of the gym. "Do you think that threat was actually empty?" The ashen haired teen asked the captain beside him.

"You don't think so, Suga? You said it yourself."

"I was just trying to help everyone relax, that's all. No point in having them worry too much, it could affect their practice. I'm not sure what I truly think about the threat."

"I have my suspicions as well, but you're right. We can't have the team worrying too much, the tournament is coming up soon and they need to keep their heads in the game. As captain and vice, we'll just need to keep a close eye on the situation."

"I suppose that's all we can do." Sugawara sighed as he gazed upon the setting sun.

One week had passed since the threat was left upon their gym doors, and everything had carried on like usual. Hinata whined at Kageyama as yet another one of his tosses hit right into his face.

"Oi, what's your problem! You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?!"

"Don't be an idiot. I'm just not feeling the sync today… Must be something wrong with you."

"What did you say?!"

"Don't mind, don't mind!" Sugawara interrupted the two, a concerned smile on his face. "Maybe we should just take a break."

The team agreed and sat down on the benches, each with their respective water bottles in hand. After taking a drink, they all stood again and began to do some quick stretches before repositioning themselves to continue practice. As Kageyama wiped his lips and closed the water bottle, he felt a burning sensation in his throat. He ignored it and began to stretch, when the sensation spread to his chest and stomach. He let out a quiet cough and rubbed his neck. Soon his vision began to blur and his head spun as he broke into a cold sweat. He felt like the floor had disappeared beneath him and he suddenly felt the impact of flesh on wood. "Kageyama?!" He heard a shout but couldn't identify the voice. He saw blurred figures rushing towards him before he succumbed to the darkness.

"Kageyama? Can you hear me?" Sugawara shouted, lifting the boy's head into his lap.

"He's burning up!" Hinata had a hand on Kageyama's forehead, heat seemed to radiate off it as if there were a fire inside his brain. Takeda, who had only just arrived, was already on the phone with emergency services and calling an ambulance.

Kageyama shook in Sugawara's arms, occasionally making strange sounds that resembled gurgling or choking, but he was otherwise silent and unresponsive. They heard the sirens outside and the world seem to blur as the paramedics and their stretcher rushed inside. They were so fast, it was hard for the team to even process what was going on around them. Paramedics rushed by them, checking Kageyama's vitals and scooping him up onto the stretcher. Takeda and Coach Ukai were talking to one of the paramedics as the rest loaded Kageyama into the ambulance, Daichi and Suga tried to join the conversation as well but were instructed to stay inside the gym with the rest of the team. Not a word was spoken in the gym, until they heard the ambulance siren whirl away down the street and Coach Ukai reentered the gym.

"Well?!" An anxious Nishinoya broke the prolonged silence, and several others in the gym already had their mouths open to speak as well. Coach Ukai raised his hand to silence anybody thinking about adding another comment.

"We don't know any details yet, we won't until Kageyama gets a proper examination at the hospital. Takeda rode with Kageyama in the ambulance, and I'm going to drive anybody who wants to come to the hospital. Call your parents and make sure it's okay first."

The team scrambled for their phones, and Yamaguchi elbowed Tsukishima until he pulled out his own phone with a sigh and a roll of his eyes. Once they confirmed with their parents, Coach Ukai loaded the entire team into the van and set off to the hospital. Once they arrived, the scurried in and crowded the thankfully empty waiting room as Coach Ukai went to find where Takeda and Kageyama were. Hinata, Nishinoya, and Tanaka were fidgety in their seats. Yamaguchi bounced his knee up and down, until Tsukishima forcefully pressed his hand into Yamaguchi's knee to still him. Asahi sat quietly, taking deep breaths to calm himself. Sugawara and Daichi sat next to each other, wringing their hands and whispering into each other's ears. The team stayed like this, until they saw a man enter the hospital and walk past the waiting room, towards the hall Coach Ukai had just sped into. It was a police officer. The room stilled, and even Tsukishima removed his headphones and started paying attention.

"You don't think…" Nishinoya whispered, gazing at the now empty space the officer had just walked through.

"We're such idiots." Sugawara leaned forward and put his face into his hands and muttered. At this, Daichi stood. "Don't jump to conclusions just yet, everyone. We don't know any details."

As if answering their concerns, Coach Ukai, Takeda, and the police officer from before entered the room. Everyone stood abruptly, questions flooding out of each of their mouths. Coach Ukai raised his hand, and everyone dropped silent.

"Kageyama has been poisoned. He'll be fine, but right now he's still very sick. You can't see him just yet."

A low, worried murmur spread through the room. Hinata grabbed onto Nishinoya's shoulder to stable himself in shock, and Sugawara put his face in his hands once again. Daichi turned away, avoiding eye contact with everyone else.

"In the meantime, I'd like to ask you kids a few questions. I know you're shocked right now, but anything you can tell me helps." The officer spoke gently, and the team simply nodded in reply. "Who would like to speak first?" He questioned. Daichi approached him, "I'm the team captain, I should go first."

The officer nodded, and led Daichi to a separate room, where he explained the message on the gym door and the events leading up to Kageyama's fall. The officer thanked him, and invited in Sugawara who told him the same. One by one, the rest of the team joined the officer and told the same story in their own way. The last one was Hinata, who told the story with a lot of self-made sound effects.

Hinata rejoined the team in the waiting room, and the officer thanked them all once more. "This was all very helpful. I'm off to the gym, to help investigate the scene with our new information. I'll return once Mr. Kageyama is feeling up to speaking." He bowed, and exited the room. A female nurse entered after the officer left.

"Mr. Kageyama still isn't awake, but he should be any minute now. Would you guys like to come and wait in his room?" The nurse smiled gently, and the team lined up behind her in a split second. They walked down a long, white hall until she stopped in front of a wooden door, knocking once and then entering as the rest followed her in.

 _Beep. Beep. Beep._

The steady beeping indicated the beating of Kageyama's heart. His breathing was shallow through the oxygen mask on his face, and the rise and fall of his chest was weak. The whole team crammed into the small room, much too tight for this many people but nobody wanted to leave. They surrounded the pure white hospital bed, their teammate looking sickly pale against it. After the nurse excused herself, someone finally decided to break the silence.

"What now? Are we going to quit the tournament?" It was Nishinoya, standing and gently bouncing in the corner, too restless to sit. Daichi sighed.

"I guess, now that we know they're serious, we have no choice but to—"

"But we've worked so hard." Everyone jumped and stared at the bed, the source of the weak voice.

"You're awake!" Sugawara, who was standing directly over Kageyama, piped up with relief. The team started to crowd him, asking him how he's feeling and saying they're happy he's okay. They were making Kageyama's head hurt. So annoying.

"Guys, don't crowd him." Daichi warned, and they all backed off a little.

Kageyama turned his head to Daichi again, "We've worked really hard to get here, and if we quit now…"

"I know how you feel, but we really shouldn't risk someone else getting hurt. I already made a mistake by not taking the warning seriously the first time. We can't make the same mistake again."

Sugawara bowed his head quickly in shame. "It's my fault too, I'm so sorry. I should've taken it more seriously and reported it right away."

There was silence.

"Oi, the police are after the punks who did this, right?" Tanaka stuffed his hands in his pockets and tapped his foot.

"Yeah, why do we need to drop out? The police'll be able to find whoever did this and then we can play as normal!" Nishinoya finally spoke, backing up Tanaka.

Daichi looked around at the faces around him. He knew how they felt, and he wasn't sure their minds could be changed at this point…

"…Alright." He sighed.

"D-Daichi?!" Sugawara whipped his head in Daichi's direction, about to protest.

" _But,_ we're not taking any unnecessary risks. We'll take a break from practice for now, and give the police time to investigate. If there's any hint that anybody else could get hurt, we're dropping out immediately. Got it?"

Their faces lit up. "Osu!"

 **Well... That was the first chapter of my first fanfiction! What do you think? ^-^**  
 **Thanks again for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2

It had been over a week since the Kageyama incident and relief was starting to spill over the team as there hasn't been a single disturbance of peace since. The culprits were probably scared off by police presence, or at least that's what people were saying.

But Sugawara knew that wasn't true.

It had been an ordinary night, Sugawara had eaten dinner with his family and retired to his bedroom, where he studied until his exhaustion got the better of him and he drifted into deep slumber. He was startled awake by a sudden crashing sound, causing him bolt upright and frantically search for the source, but he saw nothing in the darkness of the night. He let out a deep breath as he slowly made his way to his lamp and turned it on, the illumination revealing the cause of the noise.

His window bore a gaping hole, glass shatters were spread about his floor. Inside the pile of broken glass laid an object he couldn't see clearly from this distance. He slowly walked over to his closet and slipped on a pair of shoes to protect his feet from the glass before approaching the mysterious object on his floor.

He knelt down beside it to observe it, too afraid to touch it. He saw it was a large rock, with the words " _YOU'RE NEXT"_ carved deeply into it. Immediately his mind started raking for a solution. He had to be smart about this; he couldn't put himself and everyone else in jeopardy by keeping it secret. He had to report it to the police and warn the team to put practice on hold until the police find the culprits. He couldn't be a hypocrite, as he was the one urging the others to drop out of the tournament the most.

…But the faces of his team members being told this news appeared in his head. Some faces disappointed, some sad, some angry, some downright scared. No, how could he do this to them? Certainly there's another way. Yes… he would provide this evidence to the police in the morning, and the team would never know. He could leave it in the police's hands and everyone else could carry on without worry. Something in his brain was nagging that this was immature and selfish, and he knew that's probably true, but he couldn't bear to hurt his team again. Not after they had worked so hard.

That morning, he had done his best to clean up the glass and tape up the window, hoping nobody would go into the backyard and look up in his room's direction today. He didn't want to get his own fingerprints on the evidence so he put a sock on his hand to pick up the rock, and placed it in a plastic baggie. He left early for school, telling his family he was doing so because he wanted to meet up with a friend, and dropped the baggie off at the police station and explained the situation.

He felt better now that it was in the police's hands, but as attended practice that afternoon there was still regret nagging at him. He had now become full-time setter, as Kageyama was still recovering in the hospital and probably wouldn't be released for several more days. Hinata was sitting, as he was still having difficulty coordinating with Suga instead of Kageyama, and Takeda-sensei was sitting beside him. Since the incident, it was now required that both Coach Ukai and Takeda-sensei be in the gym at all times as long as the team was there. If they weren't there, the team couldn't go in. Everyone was now required to keep their water bottles in their bags, and the bags were no longer allowed to remain unsupervised in the locker room, but instead they sat under the benches where everyone could see them.

Though everyone had lightened up a bit, an air of unease still filled the room. It wasn't as lively without Kageyama, either. They had never noted him as a loud person before, and it wasn't until this week without him that they realized his and Hinata's constant bickering really livened up the place. Hinata was missing Kageyama more than he was letting on, and he even tried picking arguments with Tsukkishima to feel some sense of familiarity again, but that wasn't working well.

Suga's mind went back to the warning from last night. He shook his head and, by accident, his whole body wound up shaking with it. Much to Suga's regret, Daichi noticed this and approached him.

"You okay? You were shaking just there."

"I'm fine! I was shivering. I'm feeling pretty cold today…"

"Suga, it's the middle of summer."

"Which is exactly why the air conditioning is turned up so high!"

Daichi opened his mouth to question further but was immediately interrupted by Coach Ukai shouting "Alright, that's enough for today! Practice is over!"

Daichi turned to look at the time, surprised by how it had gotten so late so quickly, and when he turned back to confront Suga he was already gathering his things and tying on his regular shoes. Daichi sighed as Suga said his goodbyes and rushed out the door, and he approached Coach Ukai.

"Coach? Did Suga seem weird to you today?"

"Hmm… maybe a little off, but everyone's still a bit shaken. Why?"

"I thought he seemed anxious today. I asked if he was okay, and he insisted he was, but then he ran off before I could even say anything else. He was definitely in more of a hurry than usual."

Daichi caught a hint of worry flashing in Coach's eyes.

"Let's go after him, I don't think we should let him walk home alone."

Takeda-sensei escorted the rest of the team out of the gym while Coach Ukai dashed alongside Daichi in along the route Suga takes home.

Meanwhile, Suga had stopped on the sidewalk, halfway between the school and his house. He was debating what to do. He'd checked his phone and saw he had a missed call from his dad, which meant the family had probably seen the broken window. He really didn't want to go explain it to them. He couldn't turn back to school, it was too late in the evening now. He considered going to the park, or perhaps the police station to check on how things were coming, but he didn't feel safe going that far in the dark. He sucked in a deep breath and decided he had plenty of time on the way home to formulate a good excuse for the window, and he continued in that direction. Behind him, he heard three sets of running footsteps, one very close and two a bit further behind and a familiar voice called out his name. Before he could turn to see what all the commotion was about, everything went black.

A/N: I'm so sorry this story took so long to update! Life became hectic the past few months, but it's getting back to normal now. I hope to have chapters coming out more often now! Thanks to everyone for the favorites and follows!


	3. Chapter 3

**(First Baby Kags and now Mama Suga… Forgive me for I have sinned _(´□`** **」 ∠** **)_)**  
_

As the clock on the hospital wall ticked on, Daichi couldn't get the scene out of his mind. He and Coach Ukai were almost caught up to Suga when a figure dressed in all black and armed with a metal baseball bat had jumped out of seemingly nowhere behind him. All Daichi could manage was to choke out Suga's name before he saw the bat collide with his back in a powerful strike, sending him to the ground with a loud thud before either the victim or the witnesses could process what had happened. Coach Ukai had chased after the assailant while Daichi stared at the crumpled heap that was Sugawara.

He shook his head in an attempt to push away the memory.

"You okay, Daichi?" A worried Asahi questioned from the other side of the room, and Daichi flashed a smile and gave an encouraging nod. They were actually allowed to wait in Kageyama's hospital room instead of the waiting room, to both their delight and dismay. They were all happy to see Kageyama had regained a lot of strength since their last visit, but the feeling was short-lived as the air of worry and stress spread throughout the room.

The hit to Sugawara's back was strong enough that his internal organs suffered some damage and he needed a minor surgery. Minor is what the doctor called it at least, but anyone in the room can tell you a surgery on a teammate will never be minor.

"When do you think he'll be able to play again?" All faces turned to Nishinoya.

"I really don't think that's the most important thing we should be worrying about…" The irritation on Daichi's face was clear, causing Noya to squirm in his seat.

"I know, sorry. The silence was bothering me."

"Well, as long as you bring it up, I should tell you. I've already told Takeda-sensei to pull us out of the tournament."

A chorus of "No!" and saddened murmurs filled the room, deepening the irritated aura surrounding Daichi.

"Even if it were safe to continue, we don't have a setter. Do you expect us to play without one?"

Kageyama was about to protest, but instead hung his head in what was probably shame. Hinata piped up instead, "I'm sure someone else could learn it—!"

"Enough! Do you want someone else to get hurt?!" Daichi's bark plummeted the whole room back into silence, "What if someone dies because you couldn't suck up your pride and let one tournament go? Could you live with that weight on your shoulders?!"

Daichi's outburst had caused a series of gasps, and Daichi was pretty sure he'd heard a sniffle from Hinata. He let out a heavy sigh and spoke again, this time his tone was gentle.

"Sorry, that was uncalled for. I should be honest with you, I was talking to the adults earlier and they told me something." Daichi took a deep breath, "The attackers came to Suga's house and gave him a warning. He didn't tell anybody but the police. It was stupid but I think he was trying to protect everyone… I don't want that to be in vain. That's the end of the risk taking."

"…Understood."

And that was that.

Though it had only been a minute, it felt like an hour until the uncomfortable silence was broken by a light knock to the door. A nurse entered the room and gave a polite bow.

"Um, who's here for Mr. Sugawara?"

"We all are." Daichi stood up, and suddenly his stomach was doing backflips as his mind ran through all the possibilities of the surgery.

"O-Oh! Okay. His surgery was successful, and recovery may be slow but the doctor suspects it'll go smoothly. In the end he should walk out of here without any permanent damage."

Relief spread throughout the team and Daichi finally let out the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. "Can we see him?"

"He won't be awake for a little while, but I'll come back and get you as soon as he is." She smiled and bowed once again before leaving the room.

Many people flooded in and out of Suga's room that afternoon; most of the team, his family, a couple classmates who had heard the news, and even some of his teachers, including Takeda-sensei and Coach Ukai. The only one who had yet to step in was Daichi. He seemed confident on their walk to Suga's hospital room, but as soon as he heard the Sugawara parents' low murmurs coming from inside, he suddenly stated he didn't want to walk in empty handed and rushed down the hall before anybody could protest. He didn't realize how guilty he felt about the whole thing until the thought of meeting the eyes of Suga's parents. How could he? He, who let this go on for so long. He, who didn't inquire further when he noticed Suga was acting strangely. He, who could only shout as that bat collided with Suga's back. He, who did nothing. His mind was trying to tell him differently…

'The teachers or coach could have ended it too.'

'There's no way you could've known that's why he was acting strangely."

'You've never been in this kind of situation before, it makes sense for you to have frozen."

But his mind was wrong. Those were all just excuses. They don't justify his negligence…

He suddenly noticed how tightly he was squeezing the stuffed bear in his hands. He shook his head and gently put it back on the shelf, brushing out the wrinkles he'd caused on its "Get well soon!" shirt. He let out a sigh and settled on a simple candy bar, unsure if Suga could eat it yet but hoping he'd still appreciate it. He brought it to the cashier and exited the gift shop, making his way to Suga's room as slowly as he could without appearing suspicious. The setting sun shone through the windows in the hall, and he looked at his watch to see he'd left his team a whole hour ago. They've probably already gone home, he mused.

Finally, he reached Suga's room. The door was open, but he still gave a reluctant knock on it before letting himself in. Against the white sheets and his silver hair, Suga looked like a pale ghost. The dark circles beneath his eyes didn't help much with his ghastly appearance, but despite it all, the smile that found its way on his face was bright and genuine.

"I was worried you wouldn't come." He finally said. His voice wasn't as bad as Daichi had thought it would be, at least.

"I wanted to get you this." He handed Suga the candy bar, which widened his smile further.

"Thank you, that was kind."

They sat in silence for a few moments while Daichi tried to piece together something to say. He wanted to apologize, perhaps say something reassuring; he wanted to formulate a sentence that expressed everything he was feeling right at that moment. He did his best, but all that came out was "You're an idiot."

"I know." Was the simple reply.

"The doctor said if it had hit you any harder, or in a different spot, you could've been paralyzed. Permanently!"

"I know."

"Maybe… you might've even…" He couldn't finish he sentence, it was too heavy for his already tired heart to bear.

"…I'm sorry." Suga had turned his eyes away from Daichi, and was now staring at nothing in particular on the wall in front of them.

"No… I'm sorry. If only I had listened to you and stopped this whole ordeal after Kageyama was hurt. Now both of you are in the hospital, the team is in a panic, your and Kageyama's families probably hate me, as they should… it's all my fault, Suga. Don't apologize, please."

Suga's eyes grew wide before they softened again.

"I thought I was supposed to be the idiot right now, not you. So don't say such idiotic things!"

"Suga—"

"Stop. We'll get nowhere trying to take the blame on ourselves. So let's just say… it's a little bit of everyone's fault. We were all foolish for continuing with the match, I was stupid for not telling you about the warning, and most of all, it's the attackers' fault! None of this would've even happened if it weren't for them, after all."

"…Yeah."

They fell silent once again, but it was no longer a tense silence, it was a comfortable one. They spent the evening watching the sun set from Suga's hospital window, until Suga fell asleep and Daichi's parents came to take him home.

 **A/N: Happy New Year, guys! I hope you all liked this chapter. After reading it again, I decided I'm unhappy with chapter one and I'm going to rewrite I before I move on to the next chapters, so please look forward to that! Also, thank you all so much for the support! Even just views mean a lot to me and it inspires me to keep writing! ( ´ ▽ ` )** **ﾉ**


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